Mark Fraser’s first thought upon re-signing with the Maple Leafs was whether partner Cody Franson would be able to join him.

“We’ve been in contact almost daily,” Fraser said Tuesday after his salary arbitration hearing was averted by a one-year, $1.275 million US contract. “He and I worked great together last year. We were good for rejuvenating each other’s careers and he was an important presence in the dressing room.”

But while the restricted free agents were gabbing all summer, the same can’t be said for the Leafs and Franson. The latter told reporters at the Leafs’ practice facility on Tuesday that there had been little contact of late. However, general manager Dave Nonis said earlier that Fraser’s scheduled hearing was foremost on his mind and he’s not obligated to rush signing Franson or centre Nazem Kadri with the calendar not yet turned to August.

The Fraser contract (the Leafs made the first call to agent Larry Kelly on Tuesday morning after a week of silence) helps Franson in a way. By not risking Fraser scoring big with arbitrator Fred Horowitz, based on his career year and $2-million filing, the Leafs still have almost $5 million under the $64.3 million salary cap to woo Franson and Kadri.

Not enough money for both as it stands, but the Leafs can still stash up to $925,000 of a contract with the Marlies and not have that count against the cap. They have a few candidates in the $1 million payroll range if they get to the start of the season in excess of the cap.

While it’s believed Franson, who turns 26 shortly, is seeking a long-term deal after four NHL seasons, its unlikely the Leafs can meet that request unless the younger Kadri goes with a short-term “bridge” deal and tries to hit his home run later. Both Franson and Kadri had excellent years for new GM Nonis and coach Randy Carlyle, but it was just a 48-game schedule. Like many Leafs, they will be judged more harshly under 82-game conditions and whether the team gets back in the playoffs.

The other options are trading Franson’s rights, a market that would have no shortage of suitors, but a move Carlyle would not likely favour. Then there is the growing notion the Leafs should either trade or use their non-compliance buyout on expensive defenceman John-Michael Liles.

A new feature of the CBA, the buyout would restore two thirds of his $3.875 million salary to the cap, but is only open to teams for a couple of days up to Aug. 4. And a league executive cautioned that such deals sound better than they are, because they aren’t governed by the same rules as the buyouts the Leafs exercised on defenceman Mike Komisarek and centre Mikhail Grabovski.

That would be six more years of Liles on the books, nibbling at cap space. The Leafs are already counting the days until next year when Darcy Tucker and Colby Armstrong also come off the books. And though projections are for revenues and the cap to go up, should it go down for any reason, the Leafs would be handicapped in future years, especially if their young guns such as Kadri do ink long-term deals.

For now, the Leafs — who had originally offered the defenceman $855,000 — are happy to have Fraser settled.

“You always wish it could have been done a month-and-a-half ago, but both sides were adamant about their positions,” assistant Leaf GM Claude Loiselle said. “In the end, it was the right result.”